Links for Wednesday, as the Cardinals, Rays and Angels try to make improbable surges into the playoffs with some late-season magic…
- It appeared that Manny Ramirez was going to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic, but he is ineligible to play there because he has "unresolved drug program violations" with MLB, which is an affiliate of the Dominican League, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- Josh Willingham, a free agent after the season, told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that manager Bob Melvin's extension helps make Oakland an appealing destination (Twitter link).
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post chronicles the obstacles that Mariano Rivera had to overcome before throwing a single MLB pitch. The Yankees left Rivera unprotected in the 1992 expansion draft and nearly traded him in 1995.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney predicts that a wide variety of teams including the Marlins and Nationals will be interested in C.J. Wilson this offseason (Twitter link). We heard earlier today that the Nationals are scouting the Rangers left-hander.
- The Royals intend to trade for a starting pitcher this winter, but they don’t intend to trade Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas or Danny Duffy and probably won’t part with Jake Odorizzi or Mike Montgomery, either, Jon Heyman writes at SI.com. They are one of the many teams with interest in Wilson.
Has Manny had the most unceremonious end to a baseball career or what?
Bonds?
Unlike Bonds Manny got caught twice by MLB and retired in season to get away from any scrutiny.
Unlike Manny, Bonds wanted to play baseball still and no one wanted him back despite the fact he is the all time HR leader with gas in the tank.
Apples and Oranges.
Well obviously Manny still wants to play baseball if he’s trying to play in the Dominican. His situation is probably a little more embarassing because of everything else piled on top of the substance abuse forced retirement.
That and he obviously abused PED’s his entire time with the red sox which makes his career and the red sox two championships inauthentic. I wonder when bud selig and his minions will put a asterisk next to those two championships. Probably never but someday those teams will be exposed for being cheaters hopefully sooner than later.
yeah gotta strongly disagree there. Manny was never sited in the Mitchell report, nor did he get caught until he was way out of his prime. Which supports that he used them to give himself a boost post prime more than it supports his career was defined by them. Ortiz has never been proven without a doubt to have used and several people on that list tested positive for non steroid substances. So no completley wrong. Secondly championships are team efforts.
You’re seriously using The Mitchell Report to backup your claim? You mean the same thing A-Rod was not on either?
It’s only one aspect, though it would’ve made more sense for him to cite the fact that Manny never failed a test in the six years of testing prior to that first positive test, especially considering he was sloppy enough to get caught twice in two years. I have to imagine with that level of ineptitude in his approach, had he been juicing prior, he would’ve been caught much earlier.
And neither did A-Rod until he admitted it. The only players mentioned in the Mitchell Report were the ones that I think 2 or 3 trainers injected or supplied steroids or other drugs to players, as well as players who admitted guilt to taking them.
I’m sure you don’t need a trainer to do steroids. Any player could have used steroids at any time.
Who said he had to have been caught much earlier? Bonds never failed a drug test nor did McGwire. McGwire admitted guilt in court. Bonds only admitted guilt in 2003 by using a cream. Do correct me if I’m wrong on that.
I am not saying Manny did or didn’t use roids before then (well if I had to bet on it I’d say yes) but to say “He wasn’t on the Mitchell Report” is ridiculous.
” Bonds never failed a drug test nor did McGwire.”
Bad examples. Penalties for steroid testing weren’t introduced until 2006. McGwire retired in 2001, so he was never subject to the testing policy. Bonds, meanwhile, missed almost all of 2005, so we’ll scratch that. His SLG in his last full season before the steroid policy was .812, it dropped to .545 (His worst since 1991, mind you) in 2006, almost .300 points. I don’t think I have ever seen so drastic a falloff in power numbers. It’s a reasonable assumption that he simply stopped juicing once the MLB started banning people for it.
“I am not saying Manny did or didn’t use roids before then (well if I had to bet on it I’d say yes) but to say “He wasn’t on the Mitchell Report” is ridiculous. ”
Unfortunately, it’s our only tangible resource for who MAY have been on steroids. The only available evidence leads to the likelihood that Manny probably didn’t start until 2008 unless he was on steroids for his entire career (His stats have some ebb and flow, but nothing out of the ordinary).
I won’t deny that it’s very much possible he was on steroids for a long time. I’ve gotten to that point of cynicism where I’m just assuming every batter through that era might’ve been juicing, BUT there’s no real evidence indicating he was on steroids prior to 2010 and even best guess assumed from statistical anomalies, behavior and the like would point to 2008 as the starting point.
Yeah I seriously am. You cannot prove he was on it his whole career with your information and it seems right that as he faded THEN resurged that he would be caught for using. Making it more likely he used to get back to himself rather than its the basis for his talent.
Leonard covered the steroid part, but I’m going to play the Devil’s Advocate and go with the hypothetical of “okay, what if Manny WAS juicing through 2004 and 2007?”
Well, steroid testing was in place by the time the Sox won both of their championships last decade, so if the ever so brilliant and devious Manny Ramirez (This is sarcasm, for the uninitiated, Manny’s not considered the brightest bulb) was able to beat testing for six seasons (And then inexplicably seemed to have forgotten how he was doing it when he went to the Dodgers, maybe he left his kit in Boston), we have to assume other players with a higher aptitude (Pretty much 80% of the MLB) was juicing in that same timeframe.
So, sure, we’ll put an asterisk next to those two championships and, while we’re at it, let’s put an asterisk next to pretty much every single WS since the 1960’s.
Might have to make yourself a bit plainer here for the younger crowd..
Greenies, amphetamines.. Whatever you want to call them were, for whatever one wants to say, freely available and a major booster from the late 50’s on and used by every team and most players.
There was -0- penalty for using the things either. heck, even drug usage was just a “turn your head” and pretend like you did not see it.
This is for all you numb skulls who continue to come here, every single day and post that “this teams’s WS” and “THAT ONE” are not legit.
Answer? Either go out and learn something about the game itself, or take a stinking hike.. Troll somewhere else…
Ty Cobb could have ended his career in any way and it would have been reminder how unceremoniously great his career had been. All other controversies take a backseat.
But his name is still on the wall in left center…
It’s a toss-up. Manny didn’t just stand in front of national television and congress viciously denying ever taking steroids…
Never had to he was protected by east coast bias and a racist government with an agenda to stick it to bonds.
You’re right, it was because of racism. It had nothing else to do with Bonds except race. Whatever the reason was, it was Palmeiro that stood in front of national tv and flat out lied, not Manny. As I said, it’s still a toss up because they both went out on a blaze of glory.
It’s a shame that Womanny had to leave the game the way s/he did.
I truley believe that CJ Wilson will be in KC next year. If the Royals are serious about getting another starter, and don’t want to part with anyone of note, he is the best guy. I think that they will throw a lot of money at him.
I hope you’re right. Free agency isn’t quite GMDM’s strong point, and this would be nice to see.
As nice as that would be you have to remember that this is Kansas City. Going out and signing a free agent ace like Wilson would raise their payroll over 35% with just one player. Not only would they have to spend a lot of money, they would most likely have to overpay to get someone like him to come here. They will never do that
If they were smart they would trade from an area of significant depth, of which they have many, and acquire a cost controlled established ace type pitcher.
If they are serious about the long term future of Melky with this team they should look at the market for Lorenzo Cain as he could fetch quite a pitcher in the hot stove market
They should trade Moustakas. He will be a bust. Put it on record, I can feel it. Royals fans think that every minor league prospect they have will turn into a great major league player…
like Zach Greinke?!?
Yes, because his number one goal is to be with a winner. Not saying that KC won’t be great in a few years, but he has done the build up part with the Rangers and now he wants to win. He is a SoCal guy and has really made a place for himself in Dallas. I see it as the Angels or Rangers with the loyalty to the Rangers pulling through.
One of the reasons the A’s couldn’t get free agents to sign was bob Geren. Many players hated his guts and told other players about his terrible coaching ways. Good to hear somebody wants to sign with Oakland that can actualy hit.
Except no one cares about the A’s and the coliseum is a dump. Not a single player in baseball wants to play in front of 500 fans every night in a place that smells like a sewer regardless what stiff is managing.
Good try but you failed just like your never to win again repeat team. I guess that is the bitterness of knowing your team wasted $126 million on a cast off of the A’s.
Mariano Rivera for David Wells I totally forgot about that. I remember reading it in Joe Torres book.
thats a good sign for oakland that guys want to play for Melvin..gotta start somewhere, you really need to get out of oakland though.
I’d say Raffy.
A little too Raffy.
The Braves and Royals should match up well for another trade. The Braves have lots of pitchers of varying ages and abilities….and they desperately need position prospects. Maybe Jurrjens for one or two positions prospects would be a decent trade for both teams. Hanson is less expensive financially (and is signed longer)…but he would cost Moustakas at the very least.
Any chance the Braves would deal Minor or Beachy? Id be pumped to get either of those guys, just curious what it would take on the Royals end.